Family Reunion
by Japotte
Summary: The man approached him.   "Sam," he said, softly. The FAYZ barrier towering over them, telling Sam this couldn't be real. Shouldn't be.   "I'm your father." Sort of Plague spoilers.


Sam sat by the edge of the lake.

There was something on his mind.

No, not something. Someone.

He sighed. There was always something or someone on his mind, but this person was more important.

This person was Astrid. Astrid the genius.

Astrid Ellison – Sam's girlfriend.

Or so he thought they were still together...

He pictured her in his mind.

Flawless blonde hair which shone in the sunlight, gorgeous bright, intelligent eyes, perfect lips, her amazing figure, her outstanding smile which could brighten up the whole world, and her laugh. Her magical laugh, which could make Sam's day just by hearing it once.

She was beautiful.

Sam loved her, which all his heart. So what if they were too young? This was the FAYZ. The Fallout Alley Youth Zone. They were practically elders compared to everyone else. Half the other kids who would have turned 15, took the 'poof' instead. The younger children compared it with dying, saying it didn't really make a difference, which was kind of a depressing thought.

He believed Astrid loved him too. Thought, not certain. Could she just have used him? Been with him to be listened to? He was one of the most listened to people in the FAYZ, then when he'd backed down, and didn't have as much power anymore, Astrid had left.

He let out a sob. But one lead to another, and another.

"Where are you?" he called out to nothing but darkness.

Well, he literally knew where she was.

However, that wasn't Astrid.

That Astrid was broken. Lost. She was going though so much, but she wouldn't talk to anyone. Not even Sam. She kept mumbling the words 'Murderer', 'Drake', 'Monster' and 'Petey'. Sam didn't see how they linked. Had she killed Drake? Little Pete? Had Pete killed Drake, or the Gaiaphage? It didn't make sense. Although Drake and Little Pete were nowhere to be found.

However, Astrid wasn't the only one feeling lost. Sam felt like he was nothing without her.

Despite all their arguments and disagreements, there was definitely love.

Or something along the lines of that.

He remembered walking down the corridor at school, passing her during breaks and period movements. He remembered attempting to catch her eye as she flew by. He recalled the times he'd succeeded, and she'd quickly looked in the other direction. So close, yet so far.

Before that, he could have sworn that Astrid hadn't even known his name.

Although, he was probably only noticed by her, when he'd done his 'heroic' stunt by saving everyone on the bus when the driver had a heart attack. Everyone knew him after that day.

He got so much unwanted attention from so many different people, yet the one person he actually wanted it from didn't give him any.

Since the FAYZ, Astrid and Sam had become an item.

But it'd been so long since they had acted that way. Many thought they weren't together anymore.

Maybe they weren't.

But Sam would give his life just to see her mouth form a smile, and the amazing tingle he felt up his back as she laughed...

"Sam!" Taylor called, popping up beside him, making him jump out of his skin and deep thoughts. "Sam!" She said again. "We've-" she paused, noticing the trails of tears which had fallen. "Dude, you okay?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah," he said, although his head was telling him different.

'Of course you're not, Sam' he thought. 'So why not tell them the truth?'

'Because they've got enough worries without you putting more on their shoulders,' he argued with himself, pulling an odd face as he did so.

Taylor nodded slowly. "Sure," she said, unconvinced. She then put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, the gesture taking Sam by surprise. He slipped her hand off his shoulder, disliking how close she was to him.

"Tell me about it later, eh?" she said, giving him a half smile.

No. Sam didn't want to talk about it.

Not even later.

And especially not to Taylor.

"Anyway," Taylor said loudly, trying to bring Sam back again, also reminding herself why she was here. "There's a man down by Clifftop. Next to the FAYZ wall."

This snapped Sam back to reality for good. "What?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah," she said slowly, before adding. "And he looks a lot like Caine."

* * *

><p>Sam was fast walking down the street.<p>

So fast Taylor had to keep popping next to him to continue the convocation. Sam had stopped jumping by the fourth time she'd done it, and was used to, if not expecting her to do so.

"So, he looks like Caine," Sam said.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "For the thousandth time – yes!"

"Therefore," Sam said, eyes focused ahead. "There's a possibility he looks a bit likes me,"

Taylor stopped popping and thought about this for a minute.

Of course. Caine and Sam were twins.

Although, they're so different, you couldn't tell.

Caine's father is Sam's father.

Taylor smirked, and popped out of sight.

Sam gazed back to find Taylor gone.

He shrugged. At least now he could actually think without being disturbed.

* * *

><p>Astrid watched Sam and Taylor walk to an un-known place from the window in the room she's locked herself in. The room was bobbing up and down, due to the fact that she was lucky enough that Sam had dished out a boat on the lake for her to live him while she gathered herself together. Sometimes Sam slept in the other room, but what was the point? She never talked to him. She wasn't sure why he still attempted to get her to talk to him, anyway. She didn't understand why he still tried to get her to come out, and be Astrid again.<p>

Because he loved her.

'Don't kid yourself, Astrid' she thought. 'After the way you've treated him? Not even your own mother could love you.'

She glanced around the room. It was all she needed. Some food, a bed and a bathroom. She didn't require anything else.

The window and door were locked. There was no way anyone could come in.

Or come out.

Unless, that person was Taylor, of course. Who was surprising, falling behind Sam, while Sam kept his pace.

Then she was gone.

She jumped as Taylor was now beside her, smiling.

"Spying, were we?" Taylor asked, her smile becoming forced.

Astrid fumbled for words. "No...I,"

Taylor unlocked the door. She didn't care for small talk with Astrid. Anyone else, sure. But not Astrid.

"What are you doing?" Astrid asked, panic clearly showing in her voice.

"Sam's mine, Astrid," Taylor replied, shutting the door as she left. "You don't deserve him."

Astrid was going to object, but lost her words. Taylor was right. She didn't deserve him...

Then again, Taylor didn't deserve him, either.

She opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by the clicking sound of a locking door. She thrust her full body weight towards it. Nothing. She glanced at the tableside and keyhole. No keys.

Taylor only laughed. "Good luck getting out of this one," she said. "It's fully bolted and locked, and no one has the keys but me. I'll keep one, but the other..."

There was a sound of a key hitting the floorboards, then another as it fell though, Taylor laughing as it did so.

Silence.

* * *

><p>Sam slowed down his pace to walk with Quinn, who had also heard of there being an adult in the FAYZ.<p>

"Sup brah?" he asked, trying to pass the time.

Quinn just nodded, indicating he wasn't in the mood to talk. Who could blame him? They hadn't seen adults in... what seemed like forever. It'll be a shock to everyone who hears. No doubt everyone has heard, as Taylor was trusted with the news, and delivering it to Sam.

She's probably popped into other people's homes and told them before she even got to him. Which was probably the reason for the big crowd huddled in the town.

Sam ran up to Edilio, who was standing beside Diana. Quinn jogged further behind Sam.

"Hey man," Sam said, resting his arm on Edilio's shoulder.

Edilio pushed him off. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Uh... I was sent by Taylor?" Why was he not supposed to be here?

Edilio sighed. "I asked Taylor personally not to get you."

Sam look genially puzzled. "Why?" he asked.

Edilio looked into his eyes. "Man, you have so much pressure on you. We don't want to give you anymore."

Sam shook his head. "Nah, man," he said. "I wanna know about this. Especially if he looks like Caine."

Sam caught Diana flinch in the corner of his eye.

Edilio paused for a second. "I guess he kinda does," he said.

Diana shifted uncomfortably.

Sam frowned. He'd expected Edilio to be one of the first people to pick that up.

"So, where is he then?" Quinn asked, approaching them, nodding at Edilio and Diana before standing beside Sam.

Diana shrugged. "Stalked off, somewhere," she glared at him. "Why? You expected him to stick around? In this dump?"

Quinn frowned. "So-rry."

Diana smirked. "I'd blame my hormones, but then again, I always do."

Sam chuckled – something he hadn't done in a while. He wasn't expecting Diana to have been the one to make him laugh, either.

He then saw a distant figure, gradually moving towards them. Even though he was far away, you could tell he was much taller than anyone else in Perdido beach at this particular time. This new tall stranger must be the adult everyone was on about.

Sam didn't close the distance between him and the man. He let him make his way over to them.

He then saw his face. You could definitely see the resemblance to Caine. Not so much Sam. Not so much evil as Caine. Not by far.

Although, Caine did have that charming side to him...

There was a murmur in the crowd. The main word buzzing about was 'Caine'. You could clearly see the frown forming on Diana's face, although she was managing to keep quiet.

Sam snapped back to reality to find the man staring at him. Staring hard. Despite all the children surrounding them, it seemed as if they were the only ones there.

He could tell that he knew who he was.

The man approached him.

"Sam," he said, softly. The FAYZ barrier towering over them, telling Sam this couldn't be real. Shouldn't be.

"I'm your father."

All eyes were now on Sam. He could feel them, burning into his skin. He rubbed the back of his neck.

Sure. Expect Sam, the 'hero' of the town, have his father in the FAYZ.

It had to be Sam.

And of course, Caine.

Of course.


End file.
